Just Say Yes
by TodayIsTuesdayToo
Summary: Hakoda and Malina are finally getting married, and Aang has a question for Katara. Kataang Week Day 3: Dance.


**AN:**

My Day 3 submission for Kataang Week 2017. I'm a little late posting today cause I haven't been able to get to the computer, I'm sorry! You guys seem to be enjoying these sweet moments between these two so far, so I hope you like this one too!

I'm loving the feedback I'm getting from y'all so far, on here and on tumblr! Remember to check out GreetTheDawn, my blog, for the associated lyrics for each story, and Kataang-Week for more Katara/Aang content.

 **Prompt:** Dance

 **Song:** _Just Say Yes_ \- Snow Patrol

* * *

Aang shivered. The party lights twinkled against the snow in the cold evening air. Music began to swell as the celebrated couple took to the dance floor. Hakoda spun his new bride, Malina, expertly around the town square. It was hard to believe a man that Sokka took so much after could be so capable on his feet.

Half the town had turned out for the Chief's wedding. Their union was a welcome moment of peace in the tenuous relationship with the Northern Tribe. No expense had been spared, and spirits were light.

The young avatar wound his way toward the most beautiful girl in the crowd. "May I have this dance?" he asked.

Katara smiled and took his hand. Warmth flooded his limbs at her touch. He led her to the dance floor and placed his free hand on her waist as more couples, including Sokka and Suki, joined them and the newlyweds.

"How are you feeling tonight, sweetie?" He reassuringly rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

She gave him a small smile. "A little sad, but a lot happy. It's still a little weird seeing my dad with someone else, but he's so happy." She cast a fond glance at her father, still twirling Malina around. The bride looke so in love with him, a sentiment that was reflected in her husband's eyes. Katara continued, "Mom would have liked her. She would want nothing more for us than to be loved." She lifted her hand from his shoulder to his cheek. "That's how I know she would have liked you."

He grinned and leaned his head into her palm. "I'll never stop trying to make her like me. Because I'll never stop loving you."

Her eyes grew soft and she stretched to kiss him. With her body pressed to his, his thoughts went to his pocket, and he hoped she couldn't feel what was in it. The nerves that he'd been pushing off for the past few weeks began to mount.

Sensing the sudden tension in his lips, she pulled back to look at him. "Aang, what's wrong?"

He gave a small laugh and a smile touched his mouth. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing." He dropped his arms from her body and pulled her away from the dance floor by the hand. "Here, I want to show you something."

He led her toward the edge of town, to the walls overlooking the sea. They walked in silence, with his arm comfortably wrapped around her waist and her leaning into his side. The stars were beginning to shine and the dawning moonlight sparkled in her eyes. She had grown into such a stunning young woman, which was no surprise to anybody.

They reach the wall and he turned to her, taking both her hands in his and drinking in her beauty for a short moment before speaking. "Katara, do you remember the first thing I ever said to you?"

She gave a small giggle. "You asked me to go penguin sledding with you. Not your smoothest line, but you've had worse."

He grinned broadly. "Okay maybe not. But that's aside the point."

"What's the point then?" she asked, a twinkle of humor in her expression.

He brushed her hair back gently. "The point is that I knew then, without a word, that I liked you. That I would love you."

She looked down and her cheeks flushed. "It's been a long four years since then, hasn't it?"

"Nothing's changed for me." He kissed the top of her head. "Although, I'd like it to."

She looked back up at him, perplexed. "How do you mean?"

Swallowing hard against his heart, which was trying to creep into his throat. "Before the wedding, I talked to your dad. He agreed that it's time I give you this." He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a round, silver talisman on a long, black string. Carved into it was a shape that resembled his glider and, below it, three wavy lines that could be air or water. "Since I turned 16 last week, by your tribe's rules I'm of marrying age…"

Katara gasped softly.

Aang cleared his throat. "Air Nomads don't really have wedding traditions, since we don't have traditional families like the other nations, so I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to go about this…"

She threw his arms around him. "You don't have to, sweetie. I think I get the picture."

He tucked his face into her hair. "Marry me, Katara?" he whispered against her ear.

She pulled back and kissed him. "Of course I will."

His heart soared and he kissed her back so hard he almost dropped the necklace.

When they broke apart, he turned her around and tied it around her neck. She held the talisman in her hand, turning it over and watching it catch in the light. "It's beautiful, Aang."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and set his chin on her shoulder. "I wanted it to be a blend of our cultures. The Water Tribe concept of a betrothal necklace, in the style of my Air Nomad prayer talisman. And I also didn't want you to have to replace this." He touched a finger to the choker that hung around her neck. "This way you can always keep your mother close to you." He left out the part about his first dozen attempts looking like they'd been carved by a child, or Momo. Did Water Tribe men get to take a class on necklace carving or something?

She turned to him, and there were tears in her eyes. "I love you so much, Aang."

He kissed her slowly, tenderly. "I love you too, Katara. I'm going to prove it to you for the rest of our lives.

"I believe it," she whispered back.

They stood wrapped in each other's embrace for several minutes, marveling in the joy and love surrounding their newly engaged status.

"Do you want to rejoin the party now?" Aang asked eventually."

Katara shook her head and a devilish light glinted in her eye. "Not just yet."

She tackled him and they fell backward into a snow bank. Against the warmth of her touch, he couldn't care less about the cold ice against his skin. If anything, it reminded him of the first time he woke from the ice in her arms, surging life through his veins in a way he had never known before.


End file.
